Donald Trump denies unsecured phone calls to friends

DONALD Trump has slammed a report about his use of an unsecured iPhone to call friends outside of the White House, labelling it “so incorrect I do not have time here to correct it.”

Staff writers

News Corp Australia NetworkOctober 26, 20181:46am

US President Donald Trump listens to his mobile phone. Picture: APSource:AP

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has rejected a New York Times article which suggested he used an unsecured iPhone to call friends outside of the White House.

China has also denounced the report, which suggested it is listening to those phone calls, as “fake news” and suggested he exchange his iPhone for a mobile phone made by Chinese manufacturer Huawei.

US President Donald Trump on the phone in the Oval Office. Picture: AFPSource:AFP

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters that the journalists behind the report in the New York Times “are sparing no efforts to win the Academy Award for best screenplay.”

“Firstly, the New York Times should know that such report just provides another piece of evidence that the NYT is making fake news,” Ms Hua said at a daily news briefing.

“Secondly, I suggest they replace their iPhone with Huawei ones if they are really concerned about security issues.”

US President Donald Trump, right, chats with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Picture: APSource:AP

A 2012 report by a congressional panel said Huawei’s equipment was a security risk.

If the US is still concerned about security, Mr Trump could “abandon all modern communication devices and cut off contact with the outside completely,” she said.

The New York Times building in New York City. Picture: AFPSource:AFP

The Times reported that American intelligence reports said Chinese and Russian spies are listening in when Mr Trump calls friends on one of his iPhones and is using the information to try to influence him and impact administration policy.

Among those on the list are Stephen A. Schwarzman, the Blackstone Group chief executive who has endowed a master’s program at Tsinghua University in Beijing, and Steve Wynn, the former Las Vegas casino magnate who used to own a lucrative property in Macau.

Mr Trump pushed back against the idea that he uses insecure mobile phones, tweeting that he only uses government phones “and have only one seldom used government cell phone.”

The so-called experts on Trump over at the New York Times wrote a long and boring article on my cellphone usage that is so incorrect I do not have time here to correct it. I only use Government Phones, and have only one seldom used government cell phone. Story is soooo wrong!

The New York Times has a new Fake Story that now the Russians and Chinese (glad they finally added China) are listening to all of my calls on cellphones. Except that I rarely use a cellphone, & when I do it’s government authorized. I like Hard Lines. Just more made up Fake News!